Go To The Tape: Javaris Crittenton

He is just a sophomore but Javaris Crittenton has picked up a quality trait that few upperclassmen even understand. The 6-foot-4 point guard from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy spends hours upon hours watching game film. And old game films at that. The class of 2006 prospect is now translating his video study onto the hardwood.

Crittenton is a tremendous athlete with solid scoring skills but he’s learned one thing from sitting in front of the television: give it to the big guy. His big guy is Dwight Howard, the No. 1 player on the Rivals150.

"My main focus is to get it inside," Crittenton said. "I watch a lot of Magic Johnson tapes and I look at me and Dwight as Magic and Kareem. Or Magic and James Worthy. I’m gonna hit him and let him do his thing. So if he’s not open I’ll take the shot but I’m not going to try to force it."

SWAC’s version of Showtime certainly played the part on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Southern Company Gas Holiday Classic in Lilburn, GA as Crittenton and Howard combined for 41 points in winning fashion.

The point guard dished out eight assists, most of them going to Howard. Crittenton said he is aware of all of the other floor generals in the country and how they all wish they had a weapon like Howard to work with. Certainly, some of them covet his position.

"There are a lot of them. Having a 6-foot-11, 7-foot center inside – there are a lot of point guards out there that are envious of my position," Crittenton said. "I’m just blessed to be in the position that I’m in and have the number one player in the nation on my team."

After playing along side Howard and the rest of the Atlanta Celtics during the summer, Crittenton has received his own national spotlight. He is one of the top 2006 guards in the country and with his size, the Atlanta native is garnering some high major interest.

"I’m really wide open right now to be honest. I’m not going to name any top teams because that is how wide open I am," Crittenton said. "I like UNC a lot and I also like Louisville a lot."

College isn’t something he’s thought too much about but rather staying focused on the task at hand, he said. With a loaded national schedule – playing in five tournaments across the country – Crittenton said he is just worrying about the season for now.

"Games are not going to get easier at all for us. We’re going to run into tougher teams, teams that may have quicker guards or strong big guys, but playing those teams are going to help us get to state by playing them," he said. "We’ll get used to playing these harder teams and we’ll remember that and kill everybody."